1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a lid for a jar. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a lid for a canning jar. Canning jars may be known as Mason jars, fruit jars, jam jars, or Ball jars and are typically, but not necessarily, glass jars. The act of preserving food in a canning jar is commonly known as “canning” or “bottling.”
2. Background
Preserving food in canning jars is a common method used for food preservation due to its relative ease, low-cost, and suitability for use in a typical home kitchen. Moreover, people may choose to preserve food by canning because this type of preservation may be accomplished without the use of artificial food preservative additives.
Typical implements used in canning include a canning jar, disc lid, and screw ring. Canning jars are made in a variety of sizes, including one cup, one pint, one quart, and one gallon. Two common jar opening sizes are wide mouth (having a diameter of roughly three inches) and small mouth (having a diameter of roughly two and three-eighth inches), also known as regular mouth. Canning jars include an external continuous screw thread closure around the rim of the mouth. A disc lid typically comprises a metal disc (however, some disc lids comprise other material, such as plastic) having an elastomeric washer or gasket bonded to the underside of it at or near its outer edge. The disc lid diameter typically has a slightly larger diameter than the mouth of the canning jar, such that the disc lid may rest over the canning jar opening and the elastomeric washer contacts and forms a seal with the rim of the canning jar mouth. A screw ring typically comprises threading that matches the continuous screw thread closure of the canning jar. The screw ring has an internal flange that applies a downward pressure to the disc lid when the screw ring has been secured to and tightened on the canning jar via the canning jar thread closure.
Canning may typically be performed to preserve fruits, vegetables, meats, or other food in a canning jar. A typical method of canning may include preparing food for canning, inserting the prepared food into a canning jar, placing a disc lid over the canning jar mouth, securing the disc lid to the canning jar mouth by threading a screw ring on the canning jar, placing the canning jar in boiling water or steam to sterilize the food within the canning jar, and cooling the canning jar. As the canning jar cools, a partial vacuum may form within the canning jar, thereby keeping the disc lid secured to the canning jar mouth and maintaining a seal. The screw ring may then be removed and the canning jar may be ready for storage.
After the canning process has been completed, some people desire to provide a decorative element to the canning jar. One popular method to decorate a canning jar is to drape a decorative piece of fabric over the canning jar and secure the fabric to the canning jar by wrapping and/or tying a rubber band, string, ribbon, or the like around the fabric at the canning jar closure threads. A portion of the fabric may overhang below the rubber band, string, ribbon, or the like such that the overhanging portion of the fabric forms a skirt. A screw ring may also be used to secure the fabric to the canning jar. Some people insert a batting or other type of filler between the disc lid and the fabric to increase the aesthetic nature of the completed canning jar.
The typical canning lid and fabric closure system as describe above may have some disadvantages. For example, if a canning jar has a decorative fabric secured to it, a person would unsecure and remove the fabric each time he or she desired to gain access to the contents of the canning jar, thus causing inconvenience to the person. Further inconvenience may be caused by the multiple components of the lid, which may include the disc lid, batting, decorative fabric, and ribbon (or the like). The removal of each component from the canning jar may cause further inconvenience to the person, such that the person might be discouraged from consuming the contents of the canning jar.
Another disadvantage is that spills may cause the decorative fabric to come into contact with the contents of the canning jar, thereby causing food stains and reducing the aesthetic appearance of the fabric.
A further disadvantage of the typical disc lid and fabric closure system is that people with arthritis or other disabilities may have a difficult time opening the canning jar if doing so requires the person to untie, unscrew, or otherwise remove the fabric from the canning jar. If a screw ring is used to secure the fabric to the canning jar, it may be difficult to grasp the screw ring and/or turn it with sufficient force to remove it. Such a disadvantage may reduce a person's independence if he or she is unable to gain access to the contents of the jar without outside assistance.